Richmond poised to take stand on genetically modified crops

Randy Shore, Vancouver Sun04.10.2012

This file photo from 2006 shows the Steves Farm, the last farm in the residential area of Richmond is still home to Harold and Kathy Steves. Every morning the cattle head to the pastures. Here Harold heads the cattle across the dike to pastures.

The City of Richmond is poised to join a growing number of B.C. municipalities that oppose the cultivation of genetically modified crops and plants within their boundaries.

A resolution has been working its way through city hall since June 2010, when Arzeena Hamir of the Richmond Food Security Society and April Reeves of GE Free B.C. pitched councillors on proposed wording that would keep Richmond free of genetically engineered trees, plants and crops.

"We got a call a few days ago from city staff saying they are finally ready to write the report," said Hamir. "It's been lost in the legal department for nearly two years, but the resolution is expected to come to council in May."

Richmond councillor Harold Steves said staff were struggling with the question of how to deal with several farmers in Richmond already growing GE corn.

Opponents say crops such as canola that are engineered to survive pesticide applications lead to excessive use of chemical weed controls. They also worry that engineered genetic material will mix with conventional and organic crops and that foods made with the products of genetically engineered soy and corn may generate unforeseen allergic reactions in consumers.

If Richmond council passes a resolution opposing genetically engineered crops it would join a growing patchwork of B.C. municipal governments to have taken the step.

Powell River, Saltspring Island, Kaslo, Rossland and Nelson have already passed resolutions opposing the cultivation of genetically modified crops — often known as genetically modified organisms or GMOs — within their boundaries.

The Healthy Saanich Advisory Committee last year resolved to seek a ban on GE crops and directed District of Saanich staff to explore the issue.

Anti-GMO pitches have also been made in Campbell River, and Comox, according to GE Free B.C. spokesman Tony Beck.

"We anticipate that Richmond will be the next to become a genetically engineered-free zone," he said.

While local governments in Canada make largely symbolic gestures aimed at raising concerns about the human health and environmental implications of GE crops and foods, citizens in the United States are able to take direct action on the demand side of the equation, according to Lucy Sharratt, spokeswoman for the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network.

Just Label It, a coalition of environmental, farming and religious organizations in the United States has submitted a petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration containing 1.1 million signatures demanding that products that contain GE crops be labelled.

The coalition says that U.S. law allows them to pursue legal action if the FDA fails to respond.

Last year, another coalition of consumer and environmental groups in California filed an initiative to place a referendum question on the state ballot this fall asking if food products containing GE ingredients should carry a label. California Right to Know has until April 22 to collect 500,000 signatures to ensure their proposal will be on the 2012 ballot.

"If the California initiative goes through it could spread across the States and Canada," said Alex Atamanenko, B.C. MP for the Southern Interior. "It's like the way they set the standard for vehicle emissions in the United States."

Atamanenko introduced an unsuccessful bill to Parliament two years ago that would have required GE foods to be labelled in Canada.

"The time is coming that we will have the right to know that we are eating genetically modified food," he said.

Canadian activists can only look south with envy, said Sharratt.

"The decision-making apparatus for GMO foods in Canada is buried in an unaccountable bureaucracy," she said. "Our friends in the United States are forcing this issue onto the public agenda."

Canada does not require food labels to declare the presence of GE crops such as corn, soy and canola all of which are widely grown commodity crops in North America. Nearly all of those commodity crops are used to manufacture ingredients for processed foods rather than being eaten directly.

About 80 per cent of processed foods in grocery stores contain ingredients from genetically modified crops, according to the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Food processors may voluntarily label a product for sale in Canada as containing GE ingredients, but so far none have.

Health Canada and the FDA both maintain that foods that contain GE ingredients are no different from those made with conventional crops.

"Labelling isn't a safety issue, it's an issue of consumer choice and we know that consumers don't want to eat genetically engineered foods," said Sharratt.

With a file from Reuters

rshore@vancouversun.com

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Richmond poised to take stand on genetically modified crops

Video

Best of Postmedia

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Ignore the diversions in the United States: athletes kneeling or standing during the national anthem; Republicans flailing and failing again on health care; a kick-boxing creationist possibly becoming senator from Alabama. Calamity looms elsewhere. We are hurtling toward war with North Korea. It may be as early as next month. […]

It wasn’t in the middle of a farmer’s muddy field or deep in the boreal forest where the Canadian oilsands truly struck pay dirt. It was inside Fort McMurray’s recreation centre. More than 1,400 oilpatch workers, corporate executives, provincial leaders and the country’s prime minister assembled 21 years ago in northern Alberta to grasp a […]

Google’s powerful search engine is defeating some court-ordered publication bans in Canada and undermining efforts to protect young offenders and victims. Computer experts believe it’s an unintended, “mind-boggling” consequence of Google search algorithms. In six high-profile cases documented by the Citizen, searching the name of a young offender or victim online pointed to media coverage […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.